The Federal Managers' Guide to Tech Trends in 2014

By Nextgov Staff

December 10, 2013

This is a time of enormous change in government technology. Advances in cloud computing and mobile technologies are creating important opportunities for improving how agencies serve citizens and execute their missions. At the same time, new policies are requiring agencies to release vastly more data to the public than they have in the past. The Obama Administration’s Open Data Initiative aims to increase accountability to taxpayers and spur economic growth by giving entrepreneurs the information they need to build new products and services.

Together, these new tools and mandates are fueling unprecedented innovation, but they’re also creating new challenges for government and industry alike. As agencies grapple with questions about data ownership, identity management and network security, leaders face significant decisions about how to most effectively equip and train employees—those in the IT shop as well as those in operations. And as the technologies evolve, so too will the legal and organizational questions surrounding them.

The trends described in this guide are shaping virtually every agency and sector of the economy. For managers and IT executives, that means rethinking old business models for acquiring goods and services as well as recalibrating internal operations. Instead of buying hardware and software, executives increasingly are able to buy outcomes. The implications for staffing and management are significant, but so too are the opportunities for improving the way government works. Ultimately, that’s what government technology is all about. Download the guide here (registration required).